Chocolate rolls

This recipe for chocolate rolls gives you the best, most delicious, best-tasting, pillowy soft rolls you have ever tried. They are made with a fluffy dough, filled with a rich ganache, and covered with more ganache.

This recipe is inspired by two really popular recipes on our website, chocolate Nutella rolls and Nutella rolls. It’s literally everything for a chocolate lover.

If you were looking for a recipe that combines two of your favorite things in the world, chocolate and cinnamon rolls (without cinnamon), you’ve found it.

Ingredients explained

There are three ingredients from this list that I recommend are of good quality, as they can affect the flavor a lot. Those being Belgian chocolate, good butter, and the cacao powder.

• Granulated sugar: it sweetens the dough, feeds the yeast, and it’s very important for the dough to rise and have a beautiful color when it bakes.
• Active dry yeast: very popular everywhere, needs to be activated with milk.
• Milk: it needs to be at about 110F-115F (43C-46C). A temperature above 120F (49 °C) will kill the yeast, and a temperature under 100F (38 °C) will not activate it.
• Eggs: keep them at room temperature so they can incorporate into the dough easily. If you forgot your eggs in the fridge, you can place them in a glass with warm water for 5 minutes, and they’ll get to the right temperature.
• All-purpose flour: it gives structure to the rolls.
• Cacao: an important ingredient, as if you choose a bad quality cacao, it will taste plain and bland. We are using Cacao Barry (Rouge ultime) for the cacao, and it has been a favorite for us in many recipes, like chocolate cake, chocolate sheet cake, or even our brand new double chocolate cookies.
• Salt: balances the sweetness and makes it more flavorful. An ingredient people usually miss.
• Butter: unsalted and room temperature. We will not add it to the dough until the last 10 minutes.
• Heavy whipping cream: used to bake the rolls (so they turn extra fluffy!) and used for our delicious chocolate ganache.
• Dark chocolate: it has the most flavor, it is rich, and simply delicious. If you are not a fan of dark chocolate, you can change it to milk chocolate. We are using specifically Callebaut 811.

Granulated sugar

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Active Dry Yeast

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Milk

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Eggs

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CACAO BARRY – cacao

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salt

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Heavy whipping cream

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Dark chocolate Belgian

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We use an Italian butter from a local grocery store in my town that is amazing. Any grass-fed butter you can find will work amazingly.

To prepare the dough

There are three important steps in creating the dough.

1. Kneading
2. Proofing
3. Baking

We start the preparation of the dough by getting the yeast mixture (milk+sugar+yeast) ready. If there’s any issue with the yeast, you will know at this moment and change it before it’s too late.

In the picture above, you can see how the milk mixture now has a layer on top of the foam/ sponge. This is the active yeast.

When we knead the dough, we knead all of the ingredients first, minus the butter, which is added in the last 10 minutes. Kneading takes about 25 minutes, and I highly recommend you use a stand mixer.

The dough should be sticky, and I recommend that you don’t add any extra flour to it. If you add more flour than it needs, the rolls will become very dense and bland.  

This dough needs to be proofed twice, the first proof is after kneading the dough, it is the longest one, usually 1 h 30 minutes to 2 hours. The dough should double in size.

The second proofing is after you shape the rolls. Both are very important, and you should never skip them.

How to know if my rolls are baked

Underbaking a dough is probably the worst thing ever in baking. It’s happened to so many people; it’s very normal and nothing to be ashamed of.

I recommend you follow the recommended time in a recipe and check with a food thermometer. We are not using the same oven, so the time can slightly fluctuate. The internal temperature should be of 190F (88C). I always like to double-check and insert the thermometer into my doughs.

To bake your chocolate rolls, I recommend you add a splash of heavy whipping cream, as it will make them fluffier and softer. We have done this with our duo rolls, red velvet rolls, and our salted caramel rolls.

Tips for perfect rolls

1. Make sure you knead the dough using a stand mixer (fitted with a dough hook). This makes the whole process easier, less sticky, and more fun.
2. Proofing matters, don’t skip it as it’s very necessary. I recommend you find a very warm place in your house and leave it there (always covered with plastic wrap to avoid a dry dough).
3. Make sure to let the chocolate ganache cool completely before you use it. If it’s a bit too runny, it will be very messy. You can still do it, but you will end up with chocolate everywhere. We are using the same recipe for our chocolate crunch cake and our cornflake cake.
4. Add a splash of heavy cream to your chocolate rolls before you bake them; this will create extra-soft rolls.

How to cut rolls

There are different methods you can use to cut your rolls, and we have used all of them in our kitchen. Our preference at the moment is cutting and then rolling!

• Roll out the dough, add the ganache filling, and then cut into strips. Roll each one individually. This method gives you better control over the final shape of the roll and doesn’t squish the rolls like other methods do.
• Roll out the dough, add the ganache, and roll the dough into a log. Using a sharp knife, cut the rolls. I think this method would be too messy in this recipe, as the ganache would get squished.
• Same as mentioned above, but using kitchen twine instead of a knife. This method became very popular in the past 2-3 years, and everyone has been doing this for a while. It’s a good method, but I don’t think you have as much control over the final shape as you do with the first method mentioned.

For our roll recipes like Oreo, Kinder Bueno, and Biscoff, we have been using the first method and the last one.

Can I use another chocolate filling?

Yes! Of course!! We decided to use dark chocolate for this recipe because it’s more flavorful, especially in a ganache. Knowing so many people are not huge fans of dark chocolate, which is why you can choose a milk chocolate ganache instead.

We have made different Nutella rolls in the past, too, like chocolate Nutella, hazelnut, red velvet, or Ferrero, which all work amazingly.

If you are thinking more of a white chocolate filling, we have not tested it out yet, but if you do let us know in the comments.

How to enjoy rolls and store

I will always recommend any type of dough, like Nutella brioche, maple-glazed donuts, beignets, or even Funfetti rolls, that you eat them warm, not hot, but yes, warm! They are more flavorful, have a better texture, and just hit different.

I don’t recommend you keep any homemade doughy recipe on the counter or in the fridge, as I think it changes the texture a lot over time.

Let the rolls cool down completely and freeze them. Yes, even if you want to enjoy them tomorrow. With this method, the rolls will always taste fresh, and they will be soft and delicious. All you have to do is microwave them until defrosted, don’t overheat them or they will be too hot and dry as soon as they cool. Just enough for it to thaw and be a little warm.

Can you freeze rolls before you bake them?

Yes! Follow the recipe as you see it in the recipe card. After shaping, you want to place them in the same pan you would bake them, but instead of proofing, freeze them. Thaw in the fridge overnight and let them proof again, you might need to let them come to room temperature for 30 minutes after, so they can really proof. Bake them as said in the instructions.

How to freeze your baked rolls

We mentioned above that you can freeze the rolls before you bake them, but you can also freeze them after baking. The best method:

Prepare a baking tray, and add a layer of parchment paper. Separate the rolls and place them in this pan. Make sure the chocolate rolls are not touching each other. Freeze for 4-5 hours. Then, transfer them into a freezer bag or container. This way, they won’t stick one to each other.

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